In the process of packing one or more objects in a container for shipment, a void-fill dunnage product typically is placed in the shipping container along with the objects. The dunnage partially or completely fills the empty space around the objects in the container to prevent or minimize damage that could be caused by the objects moving within the container during the shipping process. Some commonly used void-fill dunnage materials include plastic foam peanuts, plastic bubble wrap, airbags, and paper dunnage.
Typically, a packer looks into a container in which one or more objects have been placed for shipment and determines the amount of dunnage material needed to fill the remaining void in the container. The packer then controls a dunnage dispenser to dispense the desired amount of dunnage. For strip-like dunnage products, for example, many experienced packers can quickly determine how many and what lengths of dunnage strips are needed to fill the void in the container.
An inexperienced packer, however, has more difficulty efficiently determining what lengths and what number of strips of dunnage are needed to fill the void volume. Consequently an inexperienced packer can slow the packing process, and is less efficient than an experienced packer. Specifically, this means that the inexperienced packer is more likely to dispense too much or too little dunnage and then expend additional time and effort to correct this problem, while also potentially wasting lengths of dunnage.
To avoid such problems with manual packing systems, fully automated systems have been developed to both automatically measure the void volume in a container and then automatically determine the required amount of dunnage for the packer. In some cases these systems remove the need for a packer altogether and also automatically dispense dunnage to the container. The initial cost of such a fully automated system, however, generally is greater than that for a manual packer-operated system.